What is Kelvin Colour Temperature?

When you’re looking at a white light, sometimes it looks warm and sometimes it looks cooler. This level of warmth and coolness is measured on a scale which is called the Kelvin Scale (K).

COLOUR TEMPERATURE IS MEASURED IN KELVINS (K)

The scale is from 1,000K to 10,000K, and simply the higher the number, the cooler the light. So the warmer a light is the redder the colour, and the cooler it is, the more blue it is in colour.

In the automotive industry, lighting typically falls somewhere on a scale from 2000K to 6500K. This table briefly outlines the main range of Kelvin colours:

IN SUMMARY:

> Less than 2000K gives off a dim glow of light, similar to what you might find from candlelight.

> 2000K-3000K gives off a soft white glow, often yellow in appearance.

> 3100K-4500K gives off a bright amount of white light.

> 4600K-6500K gives off a bright amount of blue-white light.

> 6500K and up gives off a bright bluish hue of light.